In his second season with the Los Angeles Lakers, Lonzo Ball had the opportunity to play alongside LeBron James, who Ball’s said on numerous occasions was his favorite player growing up.
However, while Ball has described playing with James as a “dream come true,” he told Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report that he was intimidated by James at first:
“I had been watching him my whole life, and I own his jerseys and everything,” Ball recalled. “… I was kind of on edge, like I didn’t know how to be around him. Because I had never really been around someone I looked up to like that. Then I seen him in the locker room, and it was crazy.”
That shouldn’t come as a surprise, as Ball had turned six years old just two days before James made his NBA debut with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Then, before Ball entered the league, James was already a four-time league MVP, three-time champion and three-time Finals MVP.
James’ effect on Ball didn’t last too long, though, as the two had no problem playing with each other. In the 34 games James and Ball played together, they posted a net rating of +2.5 and an assists percentage of 59.1 percent.
They also both tallied triple-doubles in the same game, becoming just the eighth pair of teammates to do so. Vince Carter and Jason Kidd were the last to do in 2007.
While the dream may be over for Ball, it was fun while it lasted, to say the least.
